American morals declining?

[catja6]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...l?ref=religion



Interesting poll, what do you guys think?

Fellow Americans, do you agree?

Considering that one of the few things guaranteed to crop up in *every single era of recorded history* is hand-wringing about ~declining morals~ and how the Youth of Today need to respect their elders and practice good manners and appreciate how easy they have it and stop with their awful music/crazy fashions/blasphemous art and get off my lawn dammit, I have zero patience for claims like these. Your parents whined in exactly the same way about you, and their parents whined about them, and so on back into the mists of time. It's a version of the Mystical Golden Age narrative, except in this case the Mystical Golden Age is the nostalgically imagined youth of the speaker. It's a grossly self-serving fantasy.

[Annie Roonie]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...l?ref=religion

Interesting poll, what do you guys think?

Fellow Americans, do you agree?

Every time I see one of these types of polls I laugh a little because they remind me of one of my favorite Roy Rogers' quotes:

Education ain't what it used to be, and never was.

You can substitute almost anything for "education." I've said this about every car I've owned, parents, biscuits and gravy, morals, dental floss and MTV and possibly a thousand more things.

[MadZealot]

Considering that one of the few things guaranteed to crop up in *every single era of recorded history* is hand-wringing about ~declining morals~ and how the Youth of Today need to respect their elders and practice good manners and appreciate how easy they have it and stop with their awful music/crazy fashions/blasphemous art and get off my lawn dammit, I have zero patience for claims like these. Your parents whined in exactly the same way about you, and their parents whined about them, and so on back into the mists of time. It's a version of the Mystical Golden Age narrative, except in this case the Mystical Golden Age is the nostalgically imagined youth of the speaker. It's a grossly self-serving fantasy.

This. I like this. Especially the get off my lawn dammit.

[SunflowerP]

Considering that one of the few things guaranteed to crop up in *every single era of recorded history* is hand-wringing about ~declining morals~ and how the Youth of Today need to respect their elders and practice good manners and appreciate how easy they have it and stop with their awful music/crazy fashions/blasphemous art and get off my lawn dammit, I have zero patience for claims like these. Your parents whined in exactly the same way about you, and their parents whined about them, and so on back into the mists of time. It's a version of the Mystical Golden Age narrative, except in this case the Mystical Golden Age is the nostalgically imagined youth of the speaker. It's a grossly self-serving fantasy.

There is endless amusement to be found in this - especially once I was old enough to have myself lived through that purported golden age, and know exactly how much, er, nonsense the handwringing elders were full of.

Which doesn't stop me from telling said handwringing elders to get the hell off my lawn from time to time.

Sunflower

[cigfran]

Considering that one of the few things guaranteed to crop up in *every single era of recorded history* is hand-wringing about ~declining morals~ and how the Youth of Today need to respect their elders and practice good manners and appreciate how easy they have it and stop with their awful music/crazy fashions/blasphemous art and get off my lawn dammit, I have zero patience for claims like these. Your parents whined in exactly the same way about you, and their parents whined about them, and so on back into the mists of time. It's a version of the Mystical Golden Age narrative, except in this case the Mystical Golden Age is the nostalgically imagined youth of the speaker. It's a grossly self-serving fantasy.

Thank you. Perfect.

In many ways I think morals have even improved. Things that used to be common practice are now recognized as atrocities.

It's a world. We're a fractious, territorial ape. T'was ever thus.

[catja6]

In many ways I think morals have even improved. Things that used to be common practice are now recognized as atrocities.

It's a world. We're a fractious, territorial ape. T'was ever thus.

I agree. It baffles me how anyone with even a cursory knowledge of history can moan with a straight face about how awwwwwwful The Kids Are These Days. Actually I take that back -- it doesn't baffle me at all, the rosy glow of nostalgia and the delusion of one's own moral superiority over that of the younger generation(s) are powerful and pretty much universal things.

[Marilyn/Absentminded]

I agree. It baffles me how anyone with even a cursory knowledge of history can moan with a straight face about how awwwwwwful The Kids Are These Days.

The kids themselves seem to buy into that too. I have to sit on my hands when some of my younger relatives and friends post their 'shocking' thoughts and deeds on facebook. My first instinct is always to say something like 'Aww, you shaved your head. How cute! Are you going to go on t.v. now and rip up a picture of the pope?' Or 'Wow! Your parents are fascists? I'd tell their parents on them if I were you.'

I never understood why my mother got such a kick out of teenagers and young adults, but I'm starting to feel it myself now. Mind, I don't know any of the really 'bad' ones. Most of the villainy and corruption they try to display is just so cute and innocent that I am in serious danger of offending them terribly.

Absent

[Melamphoros]

The kids themselves seem to buy into that too. I have to sit on my hands when some of my younger relatives and friends post their 'shocking' thoughts and deeds on facebook. My first instinct is always to say something like 'Aww, you shaved your head. How cute! Are you going to go on t.v. now and rip up a picture of the pope?' Or 'Wow! Your parents are fascists? I'd tell their parents on them if I were you.'

I think this might be another point. Everyone does stupid things when they're kids. The thing is that the current generation of teens have a way to broadcast their stupid deeds to the world at large (what with the facebooks, twitters, and youtubes). And they don't seem to realize if they post something anywhere on the internet, it's there forever.

[Owl]

I think this might be another point. Everyone does stupid things when they're kids. The thing is that the current generation of teens have a way to broadcast their stupid deeds to the world at large (what with the facebooks, twitters, and youtubes). And they don't seem to realize if they post something anywhere on the internet, it's there forever.

The SO and I were talking about this a few days ago. If you want something private, don't put it on the internet and maybe don't even put it on a computer! We have a digital camera, and the only pictures online are for our business website - pictures of product! Anything online is hackable. Period. Get over it.

[mlr52]

if they post something anywhere on the internet, it's there forever.

Inmortallity! (better and esaier than writing it in stone).